Moonborn Hero: Twilit Curse
by BladeOfThePoet
Summary: When a young soldier asks Link a small favor, he unknowingly sets in motion an ancient prophecy that transcends the barrier between worlds. The prophecy that a Moonborn Hero will appear, and forever change the fates of those he meets. Rewrite of The Hero and The Moon.
1. Chapter 1

**HELLO PEOPLE! WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL 'HERO AND THE MOON' REWRITE! BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST IT WAS PAINFUL TO READ. Seriously speaking, as I read this fic again, I winced. I know I can do better, so I am going to rewrite it! Plot itself will remain the same, but more detailed and better explanations… something that was painfully lacking in the last one.**

**LET US BEGIN! **

**Castle town.**

Link, the hero of the twilight, sighed happily as he walked towards his quarters in the Hyrulean army's barracks. '_How did I even end up here, anyway? ... oh right. Zelda.' _After the events of the Twilight, Princess Zelda decided that his courage and skill would be better suited in the army than as a farmer. Frankly, he'd been pretty reluctant, not to say flat out against it, but his friends prodded him to pursue a career in the military, which Fado and Bo said would be better for him than just being a farm worker. Link disagreed with that point, but it was obvious the others weren't going to relent. '_Whoop-de-doo for peer pressure…' _

That had been roughly a year ago. Today, Corporal Link of the Hyrulean Army was going to get ready for a Leave of Absence, authorized by the princess. Well, more like ordered, for reasons he couldn't understand. But hey, he wasn't going to complain either. It meant no more annoying training sessions with his fellow soldiers (who started trembling as soon as the green clad hero drew his sword).

"Hey, Link! Over here!" The green clad hero turned to see one of his fellow soldiers, Fledge or something like that, hurrying towards him with a large box in his arms.

"Hm?" As usual, he avoided the use of words. He found it troublesome to go around speaking out loud all the time, when a simple, well aimed grunt or hum combined with a nod of the head could have the same effect.

"Thank the Goddesses I found you…" The poor boy looked pale. "Look, I have an appointment with the medic shortly and I was ordered to take this to the archives. Could you do it for me, please? You know how the doctor gets if you miss an appointment." Distress was palpable in the soldier's voice. Of course Link knew what the medic was like. The cranky old man would refuse to even look at anyone that arrived late. Link sighed, and put out his arms, not bending in the slightest under the intense weight of the paperwork. "Thanks Link! See ya!" and with that, he ran off towards the hospital.

With another sigh, Link set off towards the archives. '_Come to think of it, I've never entered the archives. Didn't Zelda say it was off-limits?' _He got the place quickly enough, since it was only two buildings away from the barracks, and the archivist gave him a bored look before signaling him in.

"Put those on the floor at the back. I'll organize them later." Link nodded and carried on, silently thanking the goddesses he didn't have to work here. The endless stacks of paper and boxes around him were staggering. He deposited the box near the back wall, when the mark on the back of his hand pulsed. At the same time, a small box, wrapped with a silvery ribbon, pulsed in tandem with the symbol. Confused, Link approached the shelf.

'_Come on, Link, curiosity killed the wolf…' _he thought as his hands were already working on the ribbon. Inside the box laid a single, silvery triangle, along with a letter. Not one to leave a job half done, the hero opened the letter.

"_Dear Link…"_

That single sentence set him on edge. The letter was addressed to _him!? _ He shook his head and continued reading.

"_Dear Link_

_I hope this finds you. With all that's happening, it would be a blessing from Farore if it does. I want you to know, I would have liked nothing more than to be there at your side, watching you grow into a great man. But it would seem fate has other plans for me. I am very sorry, my son, but my time runs short"_

Link's hand trembled. This letter was… written by his _father!_ He _had _met his old man in his spectral form, the Hero's Shade, although he didn't know who the man was until their last meeting.

"_You probably don't know this, but I was a Hero. The great Hero of Time. I fought the evil Ganondorf across the stream of time, alternating between my present and 7 years in the future. When he was defeated I returned to my own time, to try and live in peace. My wish came to happen… mostly. I met two beautiful women in my lifetime, one of them being your mother. Her name is Artemis and…"_

His reading was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. Hurriedly, he closed the box and threw it and the letter into his magic pouch, and winced when he heard the box land on something hard. '_Thaaat must've been the ball and chain in landed on…'_

"Corporal Link?" Link turned to find the archivist, who held out an envelope. "Here, the leave authorization papers. I was supposed to deliver them earlier but…" he motioned the unholy amounts of paper around him. Link nodded sympathetically, understanding the issue. "Well, that would be all. Enjoy your leave, corporal." The man saluted Link before returning to his desk. Link stared at the envelope before pocketing that too, and decided to leave the archives before someone realized he'd taken an item. He wasn't going to leave the box – and the letter – that were rightfully his in the archive. He said goodbye to the archivist as he left, heading towards his room to finish packing up. Try as he might, he couldn't shake the feeling someone was watching him. The glares he could swear he was getting from the paintings of previous rulers weren't helping at all.

**A few hours later, Hyrule field.**

Link sighed as he rested his head against a tree. It had taken him longer than expected to gather his belongings, and since Epona was carrying so much stuff on her, he decided to go at a slow pace, causing the normally short trip to Ordon to drag on for hours.

'_I'll rest here for a while…' _He thought to himself, setting his hat up as a pillow and laying down. That's when the clouds above him parted slightly, allowing the moon's light to fall on him. Link looked up into the small tear in the cloud barrier, and saw the full moon staring back at him. Ever since he could remember, gazing at the moon made him feel stronger, wilder, and yet it also gave him peace of mind. He never really understood why, but he guessed it might've had something to do with his wolf form. '_I wonder if dad was the same… oh right, the letter!' _He quickly bolted up right and dove his hand into his pouch, digging out the paper sheet to continue reading. '_Now where was I…? Ah right. Her name…' _

"… _Is Artemis and let me tell you, she taught me what love at first sight was. We met one day in the woods, while I was taking a stroll. She was hunting, and let me tell you, her skill with the bow was unparalleled. I saw her strike down not one, not two, but THREE white wolfos with a single arrow. She was the most perfect woman I had ever seen… Sadly the first sight thing wasn't exactly mutual. She fired a volley of arrows at me when she saw me. As it turns out, she really didn't appreciate someone sneaking up on her. Or men. And she especially didn't appreciate a man sneaking up on her. It took me a while to get her to stop shooting at me, and sweet God-desses, she really didn't give me an easy time doing so." _

Link noticed how the word Goddesses had a scratched out letter between the third and fourth letters. Must've been a mistake from his father's part. He turned the page around to continue his reading.

"_She _really_ didn't like me at first. Honestly I don't even know what changed her mind. Her whole demeanor changed a few days after she helped me drag a drunken woman to her house. You have no idea how hard it is to carry a passed out person, particularly when all they're doing is swinging their arms back and forth yelling rather obscene things. I guess your mother thought someone might want to take advantage of the girl or something. Anyway, we met up every few days after that, and would go hunting. Months passed, then years, then one thing led to another and next thing I know I'm holding you in my arms. Your mother had to leave shortly after that, for she was… well, it'd be better if she explained it to you. I'm not known for my eloquence. Take the token in the box and let it bask in the moonlight for a moment. Assuming neither of us messed up, it should take you straight to her. When you find her tell her… Tell her I love her with all my heart._

_Love_

_Link Hyllus, Knight of Termina_

_P.S. When you meet your mother, I suggest you stay away from her huntresses. Their dislike of men is… _slightly_ stronger than Artemis's. The arrows I got on my shoulders are proof of that." _

'_Wait, what?' _Her read the postscript a few times, confused. '_H-Huntresses? A-arrows to the shoulder? What kind of woman is my mom!?' _He half expected a sarcastic quip to echo from the back of his mind, although he knew that it would never come. '_What would Midna say… "She's one tough lady! I guess you must take after your dad!". Yeah, that sounds about right.' _Link chuckled before moving over to the box. Inside it lay the object that would finally let him meet his mother. '_Is she even alive? I mean, Dad was pretty… well, dead when I last saw him.' _The young man shook his head, forcing away the negative thoughts. '_Don't be like that! I'm sure mom will be delighted to see me!' _And with that positive thought in his head, he opened the box, letting the moonlight reflect into the little silvery triangle. He heard Epona's panicked whinny as a bright light engulfed both of them, forcing Link to shield his eyes.

**A few minutes earlier**

'_I messed up… I messed up more than I have ever messed up in my entire life…' _Percy sulked as Dr. Thorn dragged him and the demigod siblings he was supposed to pick up. After dancing with Thalia (An event caused by Grover giving him a panicked nudge), he'd bolted off after the siblings. Now he had a poisonous spike embedded into his shoulder, and was being dragged along by a very cranky manticore.

"Come on, move!" Dr. Thorn (the manticore) yelled at them. Percy knew he had to stall…

"I… can't… my arm it… it hurts…"

"Bah! My poison inflicts pain, but it doesn't kill! Now MOVE!" The manticore pushed Percy forward, right next to the twins.

He looked at the two comfortingly. "It's gonna be ok. My friends will be here soon…" he winced, not entirely out of pain. '_I hope…' _

"PERCY!" His prayers were answered when Thalia's spear sailed through the air, impaling itself into Dr. Thorn's arm. The creature screeched in agony as electricity coursed through him, allowing Percy to rip out the spike in his arm and lead the demigods to safety.

"Finally!" He yelled when he reached his friends. "Gods, for a second I thought you weren't comi YEOOW!" The Son of Poseidon yelped when Thalia shocked his arm.

The Daughter of Zeus glowered at her friend. "Now I know why Annabeth calls you Kelp head! What the hell were you thinking!?" Annabeth and Grover were both glaring at him just as hard as she was. He thought about his answer for a second…

"… I got nothing." He admitted before turning back to the manticore, drawing his ever reliable sword Riptide. The beast roared, rage adorning his rather hideous features.

"You fools! You will all DIE!" He was about to charge at them, when a single sound made him freeze. Piercing the silence of the night, a hunting horn echoed, followed by howling wolves. Thalia groaned loudly.

"Oh Gods… please not _them…_" She hung her head in defeat when a silver arrow was embedded into Thorn's thick hide. The beast roared, glaring at the small army of bow women that broke through the foliage.

Thorn growled. "Direct intervention! This is against the ancient laws!" One of the girls, with auburn hair, whoexuded an aura of power, answered him, her voice sounding far older than her body appeared.

"The hunting of wild beasts is within my sphere. And you're a wild beast." She said confidently. One of her flanking archers stepped forward.

"Permission to kill, milady?" She asked respectfully.

The auburn haired girl eyed the creature. "Granted." The other girl, who was dressed just like the other archers except for the silver circlet on her forehead, nodded and readied her bow…

Only for it to be whipped out of her hands. The creature had moved faster than she's thought possible, zeroing the distance between them. In a second, she'd been disarmed and lifted off her feet, being held by the neck. She couldn't even whimper as the Manticore's tail dug into her back. The other archers took aim…

"ah ah ah~!" The creature said tauntingly. "One false move, and I'll inject so much poison into her she'll die out of pure agony. Hand over the two little demigods over there, and she lives." The girl continued to struggle, her constricted windpipe forbidding any sounds to exit it. The impasse continued for a few seconds, no one noticing the flash of silver in the woods. The auburn haired girl looked troubled.

"… Very well…" Her words shocked the girls around her, and the one being held hostage managed a choked 'No!' "You can have the Demigods, just let her…" Before she could finish the sentence, a wolf flew out of the foliage, biting into the Manticore's tail. With a forceful yank, he severed the tail from the monster, forcing Thorn to release the girl he was holding hostage. The Manticore was pelted by arrows, forcing him to jump off the cliff and onto the chopper that'd been waiting for him. The auburn haired girl ran to the one wearing the silver circlet. "Zöe, are you hurt?" Her words held a motherly tone. The girl, now identified as Zöe, nodded.

"Verily, Lady Artemis. Thanks to this wolf, however, it was not as bad as it could have been." She turned to the wolf in question, who was staring at her with its deep blue eyes. Zöe felt like she could drown in those eyes… She scratched the wolf behind the ear, not caring about the blood that adorned most of its head. "Thank you for rescuing me." She said simply, giving it a small kiss on the forehead. The wolf seemed startled and backed away, its front right paw glowing brightly. For a second it was covered in what looked like pure shadows, and the next it cleared out, revealing a young man in green robes, a few years older than Percy, blushing slightly.

"I-it was nothing, really! I just saw you in trouble and thought I should…" He was unable to finish, since an arrow nicked off the tip of one of his pointy ears. "… help?" Zöe was blushing so intensely she could've lit up a Christmas tree.

'_T-T-T-THE WOLF WAS A… WAS A HUMAN!? A MALE HUMAN!?'_ All coherent thought left her head. She'd petted its head because she thought it was just a wolf! A simple, stupid hunting beast! Not a human man!

Who, might I add, had been dodging and blocking arrows fired by Zöe for the whole time.

"YIKES! H-hey come on, what's the big ideaAHH!" An arrow had come close to his chest, forcing him to throw himself on the floor. "WHAT IN DIN'S NAME GOT INTO YOU!?"

"Din?" Artemis said in a low whisper, remembering where she last heard that name. "… Wait, Zöe! Hold your fire!" Said girl, still blushing, turned to her mistress.

"B-b-but milady! T-that man he… I… he…"

"The great Zöe Nightshade, speechless. I'm shocked." Thalia said sarcastically, but her comment went unheard by the blushing huntress. Artemis approached the young man, reverting to her adult form as she did (Much to the shock of said young man).

She studied his features for a few moments, making the poor hero nervous. "I thank you for saving my lieutenant, but tell me, boy, what is your name, and why are you here?"

The young man blinked a couple of times. "Huh? M-my name? Uh…" He gulped, still reeling from seeing a little girl turn into a grown woman in seconds. He heard the other huntresses say stuff like 'typical of a man' or 'stupid like the rest of them'. All those comments stopped when he finally answered. "… M-My name is Link Hyllus II. I-I came here looking for my mother." The girls all looked at him, confusion in their eyes.

"Link Hyllus?" One said.

"Wasn't that Lady Artemis's friend?" Asked another. Ignoring them, Link pulled out the letter from his father.

"My… my father left me this, explaining how to find her. Y-You wouldn't happen to know her? You have the same name as her." Everyone, except the two demigods Percy's group had come to retrieve and Artemis herself, gasped when he said that. "I guess I might be looking for a tombstone though… my dad was already dead when I met him… I found the letter and the token by pure chance." He absentmindedly fiddled with said token. The last thing he expected was Artemis to hug him.

"Oh Chaos… I can't believe it's you…" The woman was sobbing quietly as she hugged him. "I wanted to come see you… I really did, but my father wouldn't let me…"

Link looked at the woman, confused. An expression shared by her lieutenant.

"M-Milady? Dost thou know this man?" Artemis nodded, still not letting go of Link.

She sniffled slightly "Yes Zöe… He's… He's my son." Every demigod, nymph, monster and spirit around stared with their mouths agape.

"WHAT!?" Was the collective scream of all the Huntresses.

**AAAAND THAT'S IT FOR NOW! **

**Like I said, the old fic's dead and this new series of Moonborn Hero will take its place. Pairings will stay the same, but I plan to make this version vastly superior to the original. This is BladeOfThePoet, logging out!**


	2. Dinner with the mother!

**Chaptah 2! BEGIN! **

**Right as we left off last time!**

"WHAAT!?" Link covered his ears as best he could. The combined screech of all the huntresses combined was murder for his highly sensitive, wolf-enhanced hylian ears. Not how he imagined his meeting with his mother would turn out. One of the Hunters looked absolutely outraged.

"What are you talking about, milady? How could you possibly have a SON!?" She looked at the young hero (who was snapping his fingers next to his ears to check if they still worked) and summoned her bow "He must be using some sort of magic to confuse you! Don't worry milady, we'll free you!" Apparently, the other hunters found it easier to believe their goddess had been bewitched than her actually having a son.

"Wait, what?" Said son turned to his mother's hunting troupe, blinking confusedly at the girl aiming at him. "Uh… Why all the fuss?" He turned to the woman claiming to be his mother. "And how can you be my mother? You can't be much older than I am!" The woman stared at Link for a few moments, before cursing under her breath in some language Link didn't fully understand.

"_Di Immortales, _Hyllus… you couldn't just tell him, could you?" She turned back to Link. "Give me Hyllus's letter. Come on boy, be quick about it." Link quickly gave her the letter, mostly out of fear he'd be shot. Artemis read the letter quickly, tears welling up in her eyes at the last sentence of the main message and chuckling at the postscript. She sighed after she was done. "Of course he didn't… Then again, it'd be hard for you to believe the truth about who I am…" Link turned back to the small army of archers aiming at him.

"Uh… the leader of a hunting troupe?" He scratched the back of his head. Artemis laughed at her son.

Turning towards her hunters, she began to issue orders. "Phoebe, take Zöe to the medical tent and see to her wounds. Naomi, go through our supplies, check how much food we have. Everyone else, start setting up camp. My son will be dining with us."

"WHAT!?" Phoebe screeched, dropping her bow. "Why would you let that… that MUTT in to eat with us! He's a man!" Link turned and glared at her.

"Oi, watch it with the dog insults." He said angrily. "I'll take doggy, pup, and the occasional furball, but mutt is where I draw the line." The hunters glared at him for a moment, until a twice as ferocious glare from their mistress sent them to do their tasks, Phoebe helping Zöe to the infirmary tent. Artemis gave her son one last look before joining them in setting up their tents.

"Soooo…" Link turned to the owner of the voice, a boy with messy black hair and sea green eyes. "You're… a son of Artemis?" He asked doubtfully. Link shrugged.

"Looks that way. I don't know why all those hunters were so against it…" He remembered his father saying something about the hunters not liking men, but it couldn't be _that_ bad. "Oh, right, I'm Link. Link Hyllus II." He held out his hand to the boy, who shook it earnestly.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Percy Jackson, and these are my friends" He motioned to the people behind him. "Thalia Grace, the one with the punk clothes; Annabeth Chase is… the one that looks like she wants to ask you a million questions." Annabeth glared at Percy, but she knew he was right. "The one with the rasta cap is Grover Underwood, and these are… uh…" That's when Percy realized he didn't know the names of the two Demigods.

One of them, the girl, stepped forth. "I'm Bianca di Angelo, and this is my little brother, Nico." The boy nodded excitedly, shuffling through a deck of cards. Link smiled graciously at them.

"Pleased to meet you. Just one question…" He looked over the demigods…"… What is a "Rasta"?"

**Infirmary tent, a couple of minutes later.**

Artemis walked into the medical area, the smell of antiseptic and ambrosia filling the air. Phoebe had left not long ago, leaving only Zöe inside. Said huntress was pulling her outfit back on, hiding the bandages covering the wound on her shoulder caused by the manticore's tail.

Artemis approached her lieutenant's cot. "Zöe? Are you better?" To her surprise, the girl refused to meet her eyes. Her gaze held a small amount of anger, likely directed towards her mistress. Artemis sat next to her. "Is… this because of my son?" She asked softly, not wanting to create a rift with one of her favorite hunters.

Zöe sighed. "It is a lot to process, milady. Thy son represents many things, amongst them that thou took the company of a man." Artemis shook her head. She should've known her son's appearance would spark trouble within her Hunt.

"Yes, I know you all must feel that way…" The Goddess looked down sadly. "The moment I knew I was with child, I knew something like this would happen. If it makes you feel any better, I am still a virgin Goddess. My pregnancy was much like those of my sister Athena." Her lieutenant shuddered. Artemis was like a mother to her, so hearing stuff like that, while relieving, was also rather unnerving.

"I understand milady but… I must ask, what did thou see in the boy's father to conceive him?" Try as she might, the lieutenant was unable to mask the sheer curiosity behind her words. Artemis chuckled, lightening up the mood as she reminisced.

"His father was much like Orion… but truly kind and honorable. I honestly despised him at first, thinking him to be just like all other men. Until one night, I found him dragging a drunken woman to her home, struggling against her constant erratic movements. I offered my assistance, which he gladly took… I decided to give him a chance after that day. Many other men would've taken advantage of the girl's state." Zöe nodded, knowing that there were many members of the male population who would've done despicable things. She noticed that just about every other hunter was peering through the tent flaps, listening to their goddess's explanation. "He invited me to go hunting with him the next day, and I accepted, if only to give him the benefit of the doubt. He praised my skill, and actually asked me for some pointers, saying his arrows always veered to the left." Zöe actually giggled at that. She had that problem once when she was just learning how to shoot. "Every day, we'd go out to the woods and look for monsters and creatures to hunt. His versatility was simply stunning, sometimes covering me with support fire, others charging straight into battle with his sword in hand." She laughed lightly, reminiscing. "Ah, I'm afraid I must stop now. If I keep going I might get lost in my memories…" Zöe's expression, as well as most of the hunters', fell.

"… Did thou love him, milady?" Artemis's face turned from joy to sadness in a split second.

"… Yes… He was the second man I have fallen in love with, but the first, and only, that I have given, and will ever give, my heart." A lone tear slid down the Goddess's cheek. "… All these years, I believed he was in his home, raising our son to be a fine young man. When Link told me his father was dead I…" She shook her head. "I believe I smell dinner. I'll… go get my son." She stood and left the tent, ignoring the hunters that had been huddled up against the tent's entrance. She couldn't show herself crying in front of them.

She would just have to mourn the death of the man she loved in private…

**A few minutes later, Hunter dining tent**

Link sat nervously at the edge of the table, next to his mother's place at the head. Sitting in front of him was Zöe, whom he recognized as the girl he'd saved. He also recognized the fact that he was being glared at from just about every possible direction.

"So…" Artemis said, trying to start a conversation. "How has your life been? With Ganondorf out of the way, it must be pretty peaceful." Of course, she was referring to the stories the boy's father had told him.

Link chuckled dryly. "Yeah, with him dead Hyrule is pretty much stable." He looked down at the food, his expression unreadable. "… It was a hard fight, though. I honestly wasn't sure Midna and I were going to make it." He shuddered, remembering seeing Princess Zelda being manipulated like some twisted puppet. Artemis noticed something quickly.

"Wait… you're talking as if… _you_ had fought him." She said, her voice betraying a small amount of worry. Link tilted his head to one side, much like a confused dog (which Zöe couldn't help but find adorable).

'_Ack! Bad Zöe!' _She thought angrily.

"Well, yeah. I fought and killed him around a year ago." He flexed his sword hand a couple of times. "It was a really tough fight. Honestly, if it hadn't been for my friend Midna, I'd probably be dead today. Granted, I could've gotten by without her sarcasm…" He remembered how often he'd wanted to strangle the little twili. And yet, he knew that a non-sarcastic Midna was not Midna at all. The only time she hadn't been a little smartass was after Zant used her as a human shield against the Light Spirit (a time the Hero did _not_ want to remember). Zöe narrowed her eyes.

"And who is this 'Midna' thou speaks of?" She asked, curious.

Link smiled sadly. "An old friend of mine. She was a member of the Twili, people who lived in the realm of the Twilight." Artemis raised a brow at that. Last she heard, the Twili weren't on good terms with the people of Light. "She was my constant companion during my quest… as well as the most sarcastic being I've ever known. Honestly, I might have considered strangling her a time or two." An attempt that would've likely ended with her catapulting him away with her hair.

Feeling slightly awkward, Zöe decided to change the subject. "Why were thou in the form of a wolf when we met? Are thou a werewolf?" At the mention of the word werewolf, most of the hunters got ready to summon their bows and turn Link into a pin cushion. Said hero obliviously scratched the back of his head.

"Uh… I… don't think so?" He dove his hand inside his tunic, pulling out a necklace with an ominous stone tied to it. Said stone was wrapped in some strange, luminous energy "This is what I use to transform, not the moonlight." The crystal pulsed faintly as the light of the room hit it. "My wolf form is a result of me being a Triforce bearer. Whenever I enter a land covered in darkness, I turn into a wolf. This crystal is made of pure dark magic, so if I will the barrier around it away, I turn into a wolf, and if I focus on my triforce piece, I return to normal. Cool, huh?" To demonstrate, he placed a hand on the crystal. It shattered into millions of black squares that engulfed the hero. Upon dispersing, in his place was the same wolf that had saved Zöe earlier that night. He sat calmly, panting slightly. His movement drew attention to a previously unseen source of sound: A shackle tied around his leg. Artemis was finding it hard to keep her calm demeanor going.

"My son… What… is that?" She pointed at the aforementioned shackle.

The Hero lifted his front right paw, growling. '_Ah, damn it all. I forgot I still had this damn thing on…'_ Artemish cleared her throat loudly.

"Language, young man." Link whimpered, his ears flattening against his head. The last thing he expected was that his mom (or anyone for that matter) would understand him in his wolf form.

'_Oh, uh… *gulp*… you talk wolf.' _He said sheepishly. Shadows covered him again, shattering like glass to reveal his human form again. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly. "Agh, that's gotta be the worst part."

Phoebe, still not very trusting of the boy, piped in. "What is?" The hero pointed at his jaw.

"Do you have _any_ idea how weird it is to go from human jaw, to wolf snout, and back again? Gah, it's like having your teeth pulled apart then jammed together again." He clicked his teeth a couple more times. "Frankly, I've gotten used to the rest of the bone shifting, joint bending and even the tailbone elongating, but the jaw? You really don't get used to that one…" He then noticed his mother's glaring. "Uh… stop avoiding the question?"

"Stop avoiding the question." Artemis confirmed. Link sighed, and showed that his wrist held no shackle whatsoever.

"Result of my first transformation." He said. "I passed out and a Shadow Beast dragged me to the palace dungeons. Midna used her magic to break the chains, but couldn't get rid of the shackle." The Hero of Hyrule shrugged. "I think I've grown kinda fond of it, though. A reminder that even in the darkness there's still hope." The Hunters all felt themselves a bit more accepting of the boy. That was what Artemis had told each of them when they were recruited. Zöe decided she ought to put this man to the test.

"Milady…" the lieutenant's lone word drew the attention of the entire table. "If thou agrees, I'd like to challenge thy son to a contest of accuracy." She turned to the hero. "If he truly is thy son, then a simple test of archery should not be much of a challenge." The hero tilted his head again. '_Grr… stop doing that insufferably endearing gesture!'_ Zöe thought angrily.

"An archery contest?" The hero asked, a smile finding its way to his face. "Sure! It's been a while since I've had a good opponent. The other soldiers are just pitiful." Artemis looked at her son, then at her lieutenant.

"Very well." The Goddess agreed at last. "You and Link may have your contest. I need to talk to that girl my sister and cousin picked up. Phoebe, could you summon her?" The hunter nodded before running out of the tent. After her, Link and Zöe walked out, heading to a target that had been placed while setting up camp. Zöe walked with fiery determination in her eyes, set to prove she was better than the boy that claimed to be her Goddess's son. Link on the other hand, was smiling like an idiot. He was a fiercely competitive individual, a trait he attributed to his lupine form's side effects. Said side effects were proving to be rather tedious to him, however. His enhanced senses meant he could identify each and every scent of the people around him. The girl, Thalia, smelled like when lightning was about to strike, and the boy, Percy, smelled like ocean water. Zöe's scent, whatever it was, was _hypnotizing_. Her scent was unlike anything he had smelled before, overpowering every other scent in her vicinity. It had no equal, no other scent he could compare it to, but the hero just couldn't get enough of that scent. However, he could also smell the blood that was still flowing from her wound, stemmed by the bandages wrapped around it and almost completely covered by the stench of medicine.

Zöe summoned her bow, her quiver appearing alongside it. "I sincerely hope to see thy best." She turned to look at him, only to find that instead of a bow, he was holding a bottle full of red liquid, offering it to her.

"Likewise." He answered. He motioned to the bottle with his eyes. "Drink this. I can tell that your wound still hurts, and it's still bleeding. Nothing a bottle of red potion won't fix!" The girl hesitantly took the bottle, glaring at the one who offered it.

"And how do I know it is not poison? Or sleep potion?" Her answer was the hero's dry chuckle.

"We're in a camp, surrounded by archers that could – and I think would gladly – snipe me down without me even noticing the incoming arrow. I'm pretty sure harming one of you would be a pretty bad idea." His smile returned. "Besides, I like you girls. I can tell you're tough, not afraid to stand up for what you believe in. It's more than what can be said about a lot of people back home. Men and women alike." If there was one cowardly race Link knew of, it was the Hylians. With a few very notable exceptions, most hylians – even the guards! – ran away in fear at the thought of seeing a monster. And now he saw a group of girls, many of them not even of age yet (as far as he knew), fearlessly taking down monsters that would give the average hylian a heart attack. Zöe smiled, finding it hard to dislike the hero. She drank the red liquid he'd given her, and suddenly felt at least ten times better. The ache in her shoulder was gone, the pain around her neck from being choked vanished, and she felt like she'd just had a great rest. She hiccupped, having drunk the potion a little too fast.

"What ***hic*** is this ***hic*** made of?" She felt a little embarrassed about having a fit of hiccups, but the hero seemed to find it funny.

"Honestly? Not a clue. All I know is that it heals my wounds." He brought his bow and quiver out of his pouch, twirling an arrow between his fingers. "Shall we begin?"

**A few minutes later**

After the girl, Bianca, and Perseus had left her tent, Artemis sighed. She knew this day would come, the day the General would be free and the beast sought. But this time, she couldn't take her hunt with her. Not if the General's troops were looking for the beast too. Especially not since her hunt had a new member, one that would need to learn the basics of hunting. She realized, much to her chagrin, she'd have to call on her brother. If she was to be separated from the Hunt, she much preferred them to be in the safety of Camp Half-Blood than out in the world without her. She knew she was being a mother hen, but in a way the Hunters were the daughters she never had. With one last sigh, she walked out of the tent… and saw her Hunters gathered excitedly in two rows, leaving a wide gap between them. An arrow flew between the spectating hunt, striking the archery target. Artemis turned to see the archery target surrounded by bits of wood and straw, the bull's eye filled with split arrows. And then she looked for the shooter…

"What in the name of…" In front of the entrance to Westover, the school the demigod children had been attending, were her son and her lieutenant. That entrance was well over 80 meters away. "Uh… what's going on here?" Naomi, carrying a notepad, answered.

"Their archery contest." She answered, tallying down another mark. "First one to miss the bull's eye loses." Phoebe nodded, turning towards the archers.

"HIT!" She yelled at them. Their answer was an excited 'whoop!' from Link. Another arrow sailed past them, striking the bull's eye again. Phoebe repeated, this time with no answer other than the obvious fist pump Zöe did. "I gotta say, milady. He's not half bad. Unlike the son of Lord Poseidon." The huntress pointed at the sulking demigod. Apparently, he had been given the chance to shoot… he missed. At nearly point Blanc. "He invited us to join in, but Zöe insisted that the contest be between them." Link fired again, but this time his arrow struck a little to the left, enough for him to miss the bull's eye. Phoebe laughed. "Sorry, pretty boy!" She yelled at the participants. "The winner is Zöe! The boy missed by…" She looked at the target for a second. "… 0.3 inches to the left!"

Zöe smiled. It had been a long time since she met someone outside the Hunt who could match her in archery. She took a deep breath, fully expecting that her opponent would have an excuse ready. She looked at him, and rather than disappointment, he saw the biggest smile she had ever seen.

"You're amazing!" He said without the slightest amount of remorse. Zöe shook her head, confused.

"P-Pardon?" She stuttered out, still not believing what she just heard. "You… are not enraged or saddened by your defeat?" To her surprise, he shook his head happily.

"Not in the least!" Link told her truthfully. "It was a good loss. You beat me fair and square. I can't ask for anything more than that." Zöe couldn't stop the smile that found its way to her lips. She offered her hand to Link, who just stared confused.

"We were never properly introduced. I am Zöe Nightshade, Lady Artemis's Lieutenant." The hero grinned, and shook her hand.

"Corporal Link Hyllus II of the Hyrulean Army." They looked at each other, straight in the eye. "Honored to meet you, Lieutenant Nightshade." He addressed her respectfully, as he would a higher ranked member of the army.

"Likewise, Corporal Hyllus." The rest of the hunt, despite being far away, managed to listen to the conversation (mostly thanks to Lady Artemis's power).

For the third time in known history, a man had earned the tolerance of the hunt, and for the first time, the respect of one of its members.

**AAAND CUT! **

**Now this is a lot better than original in which the hunt simply accepted the guy. This time, Link earned it. He gave his opponent exactly what she needed to be back at 100%, even though he didn't have to, and took his defeat with honor, admitting that Zöe had simply been the better archer. This spoke volumes about him to the Hunt, and earned their tolerance. Now, this doesn't mean they'll start calling him brother or anything like that! Think of it like this: They like him, but still have their doubts. **

**And now, for the more interesting bits! Link can't help but find Zöe's natural scent to be marvelous. A scent he just adores. I can't help but think of a certain lupine trait… This is BladeOfThePoet, logging out! **

**NOTE: Link doesn't know what Ozone is, so he just called it "the smell before lightning strikes". **


End file.
